Of Ducks and Salmon….

Diary of Homestead Vacation continued….(see prior post here)

Salmon…. the Ocean’s gift to a healthy heart, diet and lifestyle.

I love salmon.  I could eat it every day of the week.  I broil it, BBQ it, bake it, steam it and have been known to skewer it.  There isn’t a more versatile fish than the humble salmon.  You can Cajun it.  Blacken it.  Smoke it. Salt Cure it.  Can it. Make a salad out of it….or eat it Tartare fashion.

This fish of Omega-3 fatty acid fame has a long standing history with humans.  Native peoples on both sides of the Pacific Ocean have been harvesting the tasty fish since the dawn of time.

But did you know that Atlantic Salmon return repeatedly every year to their place of birth to spawn?  Whereas the Pacific variety make the journey only once, thus expiring after Nature’s call to reproduce?  I vaguely remember this from science/biology classes way back when but had forgotten about it until researching this article.  The Atlantic Salmon have a definite leg up on their west coast brethren.

Which brings me to writing today’s post as I sat and watched the ducks rummaging through the blueberry bushes the other day.  What do salmon and ducks have in common you ask?   Absolutely nothing, one is a fish and the other are birds… sheesh, what did you expect?  But what happens to me quite often (which is thinking while doing something totally unrelated), as I was watching the ducks eat their dinner, I started thinking about dinner, which turned into me thinking about salmon for dinner and then coming up with what I could do different with salmon for dinner…follow me?

So I came up with a delectable Salmon Dinner relying heavily on Mexican flavours (does that surprise you?) and has absolutely no duck confit included anywhere.

Salmon a la Parrilla con Aguacate y Arroz con Cilantro
(Broiled Salmon with Avocado and Cilantro Rice)

Mexican Salmon DinnerIn less than an hour, this scrumptious dish was on the table.  The rice actually taking the longest to cook, while the garnishes and broiling of the salmon being accomplished in less that 15 minutes.

Ingredients

2 boneless, skinless salmon portions
2 cups cooked rice ( I used brown and wild rice mix, see details below)
1 avocado, peeled, seeded and thinly sliced *
1 roma tomato, finely diced
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely diced
1/2 cup diced red onion
1 cup cilantro, chopped (divided in half)
Additional chopped cilantro for garnish
Salmon Rub (see ingredient list below)
Juice of 1 lime
Salt & Pepper to taste

Salmon Rub
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 tsp Onion powder
1 tsp Paprika
1 tsp Ground Black Pepper
1 tsp Ground Cumin
1/2 tsp Sea Salt

Coat all sides of salmon pieces with Olive Oil, then mix together all the spices in a small bowl and sprinkle evenly over the salmon pieces (all sides); let sit in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to marinate.

To Make Pico de Gallo

Combine diced tomato, onion, jalapeño, 1/2 cup cilantro, 2 tsp lime juice, salt and pepper in a bowl; mix well and let sit for 30 minutes at room temp.

To make Cilantro Rice

Cook favourite rice according to package directions, remove from heat when cooked.  Stir in 1/2 cup chopped cilantro, salt and pepper to taste, then cover and keep warm until needed.

To Broil Salmon

Place spiced and marinated salmon pieces on a non-stick broil pan and broil on top shelf of oven 5 minutes per side (if salmon pieces are thicker than one inch, cook until fish flakes easily with a fork).

To Plate

Place one piece of broiled salmon per plate, serve with a 1 cup cilantro rice and garnish with pico de gallo, sliced avocado and the additional cilantro if desired.  Serve with additional lime slices for spritzing the avocado.

*Wait until plating before peeling, pitting and slicing the avocado to avoid it turning brown.

Serves 2

Buen Provecho!

P.S….this post ends the Diary of a Homestead Vacation Novella,
I hope you have enjoyed it!

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2 thoughts on “Of Ducks and Salmon….

  1. thanks for the salmon recipe. I WILL be making that, it looks delicious. We came home with many lbs of salmon, when it cools I will be canning some quarts for winter, it takes several hours to boil the jars, I do it on the deck on the propane burners, but I still want the weather to cool before I make it. Maybe procrastination for a bit as things are starting to gear up.
    We have grilled many salmons since we came home, Hubs smoked a couple of batches and the sandwiches are second to none. Thanks again for the idea-great twist, I even planted cilantro in a pot by the door, so I can make the rice

    • Oh you lucky chica you!!! Totally green with envy that you have all that fresh tasty salmon, tell you what, you ship me some salmon….and I will ship you some ducks 😀

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